At Last
by Maiden Marmalade
Summary: Sakura finally tells Kakashi how she feels and when they are given a new assignment they discover a dangerous biological threat. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE INSIDE! Revised chapters 0-7.
1. Prolouge

PROLOUGE

Sakura looked at her reflection one final time to assure herself that she looked perfect for tonight. Everything was critical, because tonight she would finally tell Kakashi how she felt.

She had just turned seventeen a few weeks ago and had been in love with Kakashi for the past two years, but could never get the courage to tell him because she felt that he would believe that she was too young. But she waited patiently, content for the meanwhile with their platonic relationship.

And she was positive that now two years later she looked as mature and adult she had been mentally. Several years later and she was still what she liked to call height-challenged, she was 5'2" and her head only came up to Kakashi's chest. She made up in her height with smooth curves, flat abs, and a big bosom. Her pale pink locks fell to mid-shoulder when it was down and her spring green eyes positively sparkled with intelligence, mischief, and cheerfulness, though only her teammates and former sensei knew about the mischief part.

Tonight she was wearing a halter dress that hugged each and every curve with only the top of the back out, but it did show a lot of cleavage, she noted happily. And to top it off she wore red strappy heels that screamed notice me. And if tonight went as well as planned someone may get lucky enough to see what matched the shoes and she wasn't talking about underwear since she wasn't wearing any.

Making sure her hair would stay pinned up she kept trying to tuck two curly tendrils on the side of her face, and then gave up when they refused to cooperate. Smiling in satisfaction she blew a kiss at herself and grabbed her bag and was out the door.

They were all planning on meeting up at one of fancier bars in Konoha. It was to celebrate them all becoming jonin 2 months ago, except they all had to find a time they all wouldn't be working! But even though Sakura was now a jonin she was still an official doctor and medic nin at the hospital having the responsibilties of a surgeon and emergency duties. But she had even more goals, because in about 3 months she was guaranteed the position as medic nin captain and wanted to become head surgeon in around 4 to 6 years when the other one planned to retire.

And between all that she was still trying to decide whether to go into ANBU or the high council eventually, but she didn't worry too much over it because Sakura knew when she wanted something she would get it. Besides Sasuke, or becoming the strongest shinobi, besting Shikamaru in shogi, and beating Tsunade or Kakashi in a one on one spar. Perhaps she should say she attained every reasonable goal she set. But she didn't see Kakashi as a goal or a dream she viewed him as her life, her soulmate. Taking a deep breath she walked into the building.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wanted to keep the introduction as short as possible but soon the story will start. It will be instant Kakasaku and fluff but you'll see.

And also I need a beta-reader please!! Email me if you're interested. I have around 13 stories with a minimum of 6 chapters each so I need someone. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Remember this story is rated M for mature. Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

Sakura walked into the bar/club and was instantly swamped by Naruto who grabbed her arm and dragged her to their table alternating saying the words, "WOW and "You're so hot."

Twisting free she shot him a look that almost had the power to make him drop dead, but all he did was laugh and scurry to the other side of the table. She looked down and couldn't believe her luck, the next seat was right next to Kakashi she thought in glee. She had purposely left late in the hopes of getting here around the same time, but this worked out perfectly!

She slid in the booth and noticed that Ino, Shika, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were all at this table. She turned to Kakashi and gave him her winning smile, "Kakashi, I can't believe you got here before me."

Sasuke looked up and smirked, "It probably took you a long time to squeeze into that dress." Everyone turned to look at Sakura and she could have died, have not Kakashi looked at her too. Unless he thought she was fat!

She reached over to grab a few peanuts from the dish and threw them at him which he couldn't avoid with the nuts flying at him in different directions, "Shut up moron," she called and then flushed red. Yeah, real mature Sakura, real mature.

After that everyone turned back to their own conversations used to the antics with the old team seven. Fuming she settled back in the seat and noticed that everyone had something to drink but her so she tried to signal a waitress but no one seemed to notice. Sighing she gave up and then looked at the object of her obsession, who wasn't in the others conversation but had a faraway book as if he wanted to be reading an icha icha book.

She let her eyes move down and saw that he was clutching a drink in his hand, most likely achoholic, but she had to take advantage of every situation. Nonchanlantly she reached over and took his glass from his hand.

He quirked a brow at her and she merely grinned. "I couldn't get the waiters attention." she said as way for explanation.

"And that means you must take mine," he countered. For response she raised the glass to her lips and touched the tip of her tongue to the rim before she closed her lips around it. Slowly she tilted her head back and let the cool and warm sensations of the alcohol fill her system. After it was gone she sat the glass back down.

"Thank you, Kakashi," she murmured. She could see his visible eye ticking and could see he was restraining himself. She didn't want him restrained. She grabbed the other glass that was on the other side of him and was surprised when he snagged her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you," he cautioned. At this point in her life Sakura didn't care if the whole world knew how she felt, all she knew is that she had to endure 2 years of frustration, lust, and love. As a result of that she had no control for what came out of her mouth next.

"What are you going to do," she whisphered with a pout, "Spank me." She let her lips curl, "Go ahead, I'll let you." OH MY GOD! That was not how she meant to tell him she loved him. It would have been after the the party and she would have been calm, cool, and sophisticated not this. In horror she started to pull her hand back, but looked at him in shock when he tightened his hold.

He wrapped her hand tighter around the glass and murmured, "Drink it." Sakura felt a hot rush course threw her body that alcholol could not do. He couldn't actually mean that. But then he pushed the glass closer to her then she realized he did!

Suddenly nervous and reeling from how the whole situation had changed in actual seconds she could only drink a sip then sat the glass down with a clink. "I guess we have a bargain now," he said and for the first time she noticed a predatory gleam in Kakashi's eye, one similar to the one he gave an enemy he hunted down and was ready for the kill, but what disconcerted her was the lust mixed in with it.

Struggling to appear unaffected but literally out of her mind she mangaged to smile, "Yes, we do." She leaned back in the seat and nearly shrieked when she felt a hand rest on her inner thigh. She looked up at him but he had turned and was having a conversation with Shikamaru about some stupid strategy.

She was about to relax when it moved higher and she shot him a sharp glance that he appeared to be unaware of. He wouldn't try nothing like that here would he? When it moved dangerously close to apex between her thighs she began to suspect that this Kakashi was not the one she was used to.

She grabbed a nearby menu and looked over it, but if it contained a long lost scroll she wouldn't have been able to concentrate. His index finger moved over the nub that sent a shockwave of pleasure through her that she hoped no one could notice. His fingers sped up which caused her to open her thighs a little wider which gave him better access. After a few moments of Kakashi's magical fingers she could feel the first orgasm she ever exprienced by someone else coming upon her. When it hit her she lowered her head to the table with a bang so no one would notice the soft cry she couldn't manage to keep in.

She lifted her head up to see everyone looking at her in concern, even Kakashi managed to, she noticed with an inner snort.

"Are you okay Sakura," Naruto asked looking anxious.

She struggled not to shoot daggers at her old sensei who she now knew for a fact was a pervert. She tried to shrug it off, "I stole Kakashi's drink and I guess I drunk it too fast." She could sense Kakashi smirking.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her but turned back to Naruto, apparently not noticing anything. Once everyone's attention was away from her she turned to glare at Kakashi and whisphered threateningly, "That was not funny."

His lips curled under the mask, "We made a bargain, don't you remember?"

She blushed and squirmed in her seat, "That was not a part of it."

"Consider it a bonus," he murmured softly.

Sakura knew by now she was looking like a red and pink hot mess and before she said something to embarrass herself even furthur she turned to get Naruto's attention to ask him about his latest mission, which of course he was too happy to ablige.

It was nearly 3 hours later when the whole celebration dwindled down. By that time most of them were near plastered, except for Sakura. But she stood up shakily and added a wobble for effect. Grabbing the bench she steadied herself, "Looks like I had too much of a good time" she giggled, "Its time for me to head in, I have work tomorrow."

Kakashi stood up behind her. "Its not wise to walk home drunk Sakura. I was planning on leaving soon so I'll take you."

She sent him what she hoped was a dazed look, "You're so right sensei-," giggle, "I mean Kakashi." She stumbled again and he grabbed her arm and looked sternly at her.

"I hope Tsunade's influnence isn't rubbing off on you. We need our med-nins with a clear mind in case of emergencies."

Sakura rolled her eyes and held onto his arm. "Whatever, I'm tired. I'll just heal my head-ache in the morning." She turned to wave at everyone that was still at the table. "G-Good night everybody." Grinning like a fool she let Kakashi lead her out of the bar.

They walked in companiable silence until they were a good distance away from the bar and close to Sakura's place. She looked up to him and smiled, "I didn't overdo it with the sensei part did I?"

He didn't answer at first but pulled her between some buildings and pushed her against the wall. "I was planning on punishing you for that too." He looked down at her pressed against the wall her chest heaving and her eyes full of passion and lust. She was beautiful and she wanted him.

Sakura smiled up at him, "I think I was convincing huh? I don't think no one noticed anything, even with your little act at the table," she accused.

"I thought you enjoyed that," and to prove his point he pushed a knee in between her thighs and she arched into it.

"I would enjoy it more if we could go somewhere more private," she muttered.

"After waiting so long does it really matter where," was his reply.

She stared at him in suspicion, "What do you mean by that?" He couldn't mean what she thought he meant.

"The day you didn't yell at me for being late for something was the day that I knew," he responded.

Sakura brows forrowed as she tried to remember such a day, but couldn't think of any. He elaborated for her, "I was running late and I gave a truthful excuse," she smirked, "And all you did was smile and shake your head."

She looked up at him in amazement. "How can you remember something like that? It happened nearly 2 years ago?"

Even through the mask he could convey smugness, "I am the copy-nin, I remember everything."

"Well," she paused uncertain how to continue, "Why didn't you do anything."

He looked at her strangely then said, "One you wouln't have been legal until sixteen in Konoha, two I wasn't thinking about you that way, and three I thought it would simply pass as it did with Sasuke."

"How did you know I still felt the same way," she asked softly and lowered her eyes.

"Sakura," he started, and forced her to look up, "You wear your heart in your eyes."

"But no one else noticed," she argued, "So how could-"

He cut her off, "No one bothered to look, and because I know you Sakura." At that he pulled down his mask and revealed another one that caused Sakura to laugh and her eyes to mist up at the same time.

"This must be one of the times you have another mask on," she murmured.

If possible his eye seemed to darken and he raised his other hand up and slowly pulled down the other mask. Sakura didn't get a chance to look because as soon as it was down his lips were on hers.

It was strange, he had touched her so intimately hours ago yet he hadn't kissed her. And even stranger was that this kiss meant more to her.

She looped her arms around his neck and he tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. His tongue pushed at her mouth and she opened to let him in and he devoured her. She moaned deep in her throat and shifted restlessly against his body.

She said the one line they both wanted, no needed to hear, "Take me home Kakashi."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I loved writing this chapter. I'm going to be be updating a lot of my stories now because in May I start school. So I'm just going to be publishing and updating galore until then.

Don't forget to email for the beta job, please review!


	3. Chapter 2

Author's note: I don't write lemons, but I make it enough where you can see in a rated R movie, and trust me, they can go there.

CHAPTER TWO

Kakashi sprinted at lightning speed to her apartment and crashed through her door. Sakura giggling, scolded him that he was going to wake her neighbors. Without even turning on the light, he tumbled them both on the bed and immediately captured Sakura's lips.

He pulled down her dress and groaned at the sight before him. His imagination didn't do her justice. He removed her bra and buried his head into bliss. He just laid there for a moment until Sakura was forced to ask.

"Uh-Kakashi, um, are you okay?"

He merely sighed and snuggled in deeper, "Oh yes, I'm in heaven." When realization struck Sakura reached down and smacked him in the head, she had a violent streak towards the ones she loved.

"Pervert," she shrieked. "I didn't know what I was getting into."

He looked up and she was delightedly startled to see a grin on his handsome face. "Now you do," he said and promptly bent down to suckle a nipple into his mouth.

Sakura gasped and arched into his mouth, "I sure do," she moaned. He turned his attention to the other one until Sakura lay writhing in painful anticipation beneath him. "Please-," was all she could get out.

Happy to oblige in Kakashi style speed had all their clothes off. He took them both to a state where the waiting became unbearable so he positioned himself between her soft thighs. He pushed her left leg up and bent it and the angle caused him to notice something on her leg in the darkened room. Pausing for a moment, he looked down and noticed she had a tattoo drawn perilously close to the center of her thighs.

Stunned he dropped her leg and looked up to see her grinning at him, "Took you long enough to notice, huh? I wonder after tonight will I have to change it."

On the inside of her thigh was a cherry stem with two dark red ripe cherries dangling from it. It was all Kakashi could do not to lose it right there. He bent down and brushed his lips softly over hers, "Keep it," he ordered.

She stared at him with passion-filled eyes and slowly nodded her head, "I'll keep it just for you," she whispered and moved her legs up to wrap around his waist. She knew now it wouldn't just be a one-night thing.

Not breaking eye contact Kakashi slowly pushed inside her body, and with only a slight resistance was through. "Are you okay," he asked her panting slightly once he was all the way in.

"Yeah," she responded in a strained voice. Other than a slight burn, she was fine; being an active kunoichi her body had naturally wore down any resistance.

"Good," he said, "Because I don't think I could wait." He pulled back slightly and eased himself back in. He never wanted to leave her body, this was right; this was all that mattered to him at the point in time.

Sakura was mirroring his thoughts; finally, they were joined together. It was happening so fast she couldn't even put it all together. She guessed they were both just waiting for her to make the first move. And it had ended so much better than she could have imagined.

It didn't take long for her to reach her climax; her body had been in wait for him for so long that it had been primed and ready for this moment. Clutching his shoulders she cried out weakly, "I love you Kakashi," she found herself unable to keep in. Seconds later, she completely lost it as she shattered into pleasure.

It was too much for Kakashi for he soon followed her. Pressing a kiss to her mouth he murmured, "You're precious to me." Those words from him sent a glow to her heart, because from him they meant the world.

Happy and in love she fell asleep with him on top of her.

AN: I wanted to end it right there. And a little TMI, most girls who ride horses and are really active hymen naturally fades over time. So I doubt that many female ninjas would still have one after years of fighting like that. I try to make at least some things realistic, because I can go beyond the realm of possibility. But that's what makes anime fun.


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning Sakura woke up before Kakashi, and when she looked down at his unguarded face she couldn't help but giggle. He looked adorable in the morning. His messy silver hair was going in every which way over the pillow and the scar around his sharigan eye gave him a devilishly rake appearance. She was hoping to hear him snore but she wasn't surprised that Kakashi slept like the dead, she wouldn't even have felt he was there if she wasn't looking right at him. A true shinobi even in slumber.

She moved slowly off of him trying not to wake him. She did not want Kakashi to see morning Sakura; she was a messy sleeper and a mess in the morning. She didn't have to look in the mirror to know that her pink hair was in worse condition than Kakashi's, and that her eyes looked like a raccoon since she didn't take off her make-up.

Stealthily she picked up one of her sheets that had winded up on the floor and silently made her way to the bathroom with it wrapped around her. When she was securely inside with the shower door closed, she heaved a sigh of relief. It was short lived when she turned around to turn the water on and a pair of arms slid around her waist.

She screamed and jumped against the wall. "Kakashi," she cried when she seen him, "You almost gave me a heart attack," she glared at him with a hand pressed against her speeding heart. She never even heard the door open much less him come into the shower.

When she noticed that all he had on was his hitai-ai and not his mask she was slightly mollified. Then he pressed against her against the wall, "You left before I could have my early morning fun," he whispered close to her ear.

"Well-uh," she stammered her mind going completely fuzzy. She could get used to this she thought when he took her lobe between his teeth.

"That's okay, it'll be much more fun in here," he chuckled. He pulled back and pulled up his hitai-ai, "Look up Sakura." She looked up into his eyes and with a swirl of red was in complete bliss. It was a shower to remember.

Once he finally let her get dressed, she put on a black skirt and a sleeveless red top. She didn't have any assignments today since it was her shift at the hospital and she liked to wear her skirts when she wasn't leaving the village.

Kakashi must have been mirroring her thoughts because as soon as she pulled it on he came up behind her and grabbed her hips. "I like seeing you in skirts, that means you'll be easily accessible wherever you go."

She swatted at his hands and turned to face him, "I'm not going to be wearing skirts for your perverse pleasure. And don't think just because I'm wearing one I'll let you under them," she reprimanded him.

He merely grinned, "We'll have to see about that, hmm?" Then he reached down and started to pull it up. She quickly evaded his grasp and moved until she stood a good distance away from him.

"Enough, Kakashi, didn't you have enough," she exclaimed then immediately turned red at her words.

He looked considering then replied, "No, it must be because of my amazing stamina," he paused, and she rolled her eyes, "Or perhaps it's because of you." She smiled at him but it quickly turned to a scowl when he continued, "Or then again it could be that I know all I have to do is lift up your skirt."

Sakura grabbed the white jacket that was hanging on a hook near her door. "Nope, not today, I'm wearing underwear." The look of disappointment on his face was priceless. She put the jacket on and said, "Besides anything else and I'll be late, no matter how quick you can be," she added when he opened his mouth to say something.

He was looking like a little ninja who had lost his first kunai. Feeling sorry for him, she walked up to him and pressed a kiss on his exposed mouth. "Maybe after work you can come over and I'll even keep my white jacket on," she winked mischievously.

"I like the sound of that," he growled and then pulled her up firmly against his body and gave her a hard kiss. He let the kiss continue until he heard her moan and then he pulled back. Smirking he said, "Don't want you to be late," and then he performed a hand sign that had him poofing out the room.

Dazed Sakura shook her head, 'That bastard, he did that on purpose,' she thought but she was smiling. After collecting her supplies and ensuring she had everything in her pack she left for the hospital.

Sakura was sorting through some patient information files when a nurse poked her head into the room and said that Tsunade wanted to see her. She placed the papers back into the folders and went to the Hokage.

Since the door was cracked she didn't bother to knock and just walked in. Tsunade was sitting at her desk reading some papers with an absorbed expression on her face. When Sakura walked in she looked up and smiled, "You're here." She shuffled through the papers until she found the one she was looking for.

"I have a new outside mission for you," she announced. Sakura was surprised, Tsunade had her scheduled for so many shifts at the hospital she hadn't been on many missions lately that took her out of Konoha.

She took the paper and quickly read it and deduced why she was given this assignment. "You need me to go heal a neighboring village head," she asked.

"Yes," Tsunade's look turned serious, "But I'm sending you with a jounin escort team of Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi." Sakura blinked her eyes in confusion so she clarified for her, "This is an A class mission. It may be a simple healing assignment but many people want him dead and if word gets out that he's going to be healed many people are going to try and prevent that from happening." She leaned back in her chair and clasped her hands together, "It may not even come to that, but I'm being extremely cautious. I can't have anything happen to one of my best medic-nins, and if this mission is a success it may help you reach your goal quicker."

Sakura digested all that information, "When do you want me to leave?"

"The sooner the better," Tsunade replied. "From what I hear his health is depleting quickly, but that won't be a problem for you. The only way you couldn't heal him Sakura is if he was dead."

Sakura beamed, "All right, I'll go home to take a nap and leave at nightfall."

"Good," Tsunade nodded, but then she got a grin on her face, "There's something different about you Sakura," she said and tapped her chin. "What could it be? Lets see you can't stop smiling, your face is glowing, you're walking slightly different," Sakura flushed red, "And you have a hickey," Tsunade pointed. "I think someone got lucky last night," she exclaimed.

Sakura covered her face in embarrassment, "Tsunade," she groaned.

"So who's the lucky guy," she asked.

Sakura looked around checking for any prying chakra sources and leaned in close to Tsunade and whispered, "I'm not telling you."

Tsunade glared at her and said, "I'm ordering you as your Hokage to tell me."

"I'm not doing no such thing, it's none of your business," Sakura shot back.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her, "I'll find out who it is," she declared. "Aside from that, I want you and the rest of your team in here after you've rested."

Still smiling and definitely not walking funny Sakura walked out. She wouldn't be surprised not if but when Tsunade found out. She wanted to enjoy her secret for just a little while longer, and she could keep Kakashi all to herself.


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Naruto woke Sakura up three hours later. She had ran into him her way home and told him to wake her up in a few hours because the four of them needed to meet up with Tsunade. He told her he would pass the message on to Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Saakuuraaaa," he trilled loudly. He repeated that for four times until Sakura tossed a pillow in his face that nearly suffocated him from the force behind the blow.

"Ow," he cried and fell on the floor, "You nearly killed me."

Sakura heaved a sigh and sat up on her bed, she had instantly fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow. She didn't get that much sleep last night because of Kakashi and the party, and she didn't want to start a new mission unless she had a clear mind.

"Sorry, Naruto," she called put, "it was pure instinct." She swung her legs around and stood up to stretch. Naruto was up and was at her door already.

"I'll tell them you're on your way," he said and with a goodbye was out the door.

She walked over to her dresser and pulled on some black pants and grabbing her medic bag was ready. In no time she was at Tsunade's office. She walked in and noticed everyone else was already there; she had even come after Kakashi!

"Glad you could finally make it Sakura," Tsunade greeted. "I just briefed them and since I already briefed you earlier you can leave now."

Sakura was turning to leave but stopped stone cold in her tracks when Tsunade spoke, "So did Sakura tell you who she got lucky with last night? She won't tell me but I know she had to tell one of you."

Sakura felt all the breath whoosh out of her body and would have fallen to the floor if she didn't grab onto the door. She turned around with murder in her eyes, "Tsunade," she shrieked, "What do you think you're doing?"

Tsunade smirked at her, "Trying to find out. You're so tight-lipped about it I have to find out somehow." Sakura shook her head in amazement, sometimes Tsunade went beyond unpredictable. Whatever she did, she was not going to look at Kakashi.

Naruto was shocked, "What do you mean? My dear Sakura is still a virgin."

_'Kill me now_,' the non-virgin thought to herself.

All Sasuke did was snort, "No one in their right mind would sleep with her."

Kakashi just stood there, enjoying the whole situation no doubt.

Tsunade tapped her fingers on her desk, "Hmm, I thought for sure one of you would know. What about you Kakashi," she asked the dreaded question.

Sakura did not trust whatever he was about to say so quick as a flash four shurikins appeared between her fingers. "If this conversation doesn't end now, I will be forced to commit treason." They must have realized she meant it because silence settled in. Satisfied she re-sheathed them.

As she walked out she heard Tsunade add, "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," in a smug mocking tone as if she knew. Once she was completely out she slammed the door with a bang! She could hear Tsunade laughing as she walked down the hallway.

Inside her office Tsunade couldn't stop laughing, it was so easy to get Sakura so riled up and to get the truth out of her. Forcing her mirth down she gestured to the door, "You can all go now before she starts on her own." She looked at the three of them and added, "I have a feeling this is going to be one interesting mission. Good luck," she called.

They stood outside the door and it wasn't surprising that Naruto was the first to speak, "What was Tsunade talking about? Why would she ask us that?"

Trust Naruto to be clueless. Sasuke glared at him, "You idiot. She said that Sakura slept with-" he cut himself off and merely glared pointedly at Kakashi. Naruto still clueless turned to him.

"What? Do you know you who, Kakashi," he asked.

Kakashi stood there and weighed his words carefully. Be honest and incur Sakura's wrath or lie, maybe both. "Yes," he responded.

"Who," Naruto cried.

Sasuke shook his head and pointed at Kakashi, "She was talking about him," he exclaimed.

"Oh," Naruto said stupidly. "Well-," and scratched his head. Then he said, "You stole my precious Sakura's virginity!"

'Didn't come from me,' Kakashi thought. But it was at that unfortunate time that they were turning a corner where Sakura stood standing.

At that point, Sakura didn't know whether she wanted to kill somebody or just be killed so she did the only sensible thing she could think of. She threatened them again, "Until I speak to either of you I don't want to hear a word out of you, or rogue ninjas won't be the only threat out there tonight."

They all wisely nodded their heads and satisfied she continued walking down the hallway until they were out of the building. Once they were outside of Konoha's gates Sakura heaved a sigh of relief.

"I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of Konoha without killing Tsunade, it's a relief I won't be killed for treason," she announced in a cheerful voice. They all looked at her warily not sure how to tread with her and she rolled her eyes, "I'm not sure about you all but I'm glad we have a mission together its been a long time since we've all been given different assignments."

"We don't have the assignment. You're going as a medic-nin and we're your escorts," Sasuke replied in a surly voice.

Sakura grinned, "I like the sound of that, my escorts huh," she remarked wondrously.

"It's going to be my pleasure escorting you Sakura," Kakashi spoke up. Sasuke and Naruto both looked absolutely terrified but Sakura merely went to stand next to Kakashi and loop her arm through his.

"Only if you behave," she replied.

Naruto began choking on the air and sputtered, "Don't say things like that!"

Sasuke shook his head in disgust and let it be known, "That's disgusting, I don't want to see or hear anything like that."

Sakura shot them both a reprimanding look, "You won't be seeing or hearing anything you morons."

Clutching his head Naruto cried woefully, "Kakashi has turned Sakura into a pervert, Oh no," he cried.

Horrified beyond all means Sasuke quickened his gait to get far away from them. "Wait for me," Naruto called out and caught up to him. Kakashi and Sakura watched them both in amusement.

She turned to him with a smirk, "Now I know what to do to get them to leave me alone." Then she her face turned ominous, "About Tsunade," she started.

He held his hands up, "I had nothing to do with that, I was simply going to tell her that you wouldn't tell me who you slept with. It wouldn't be a lie because who goes around telling their lover they slept with them."

"Are you blaming me," she asked loudly in disbelief.

Kakashi shrugged, "I never said a thing, in your own way you told Tsunade. If you only would have trusted in me it never would have happened."

She looked at him suspiciously, "Fine, I'll let it slide this time," she consented. "And for your information the only pleasure you'll get from this mission is your memories of last night."

His eye got a far-away look in it, "I like this morning best. If you would have let me have my fun it would have been better." He looked down and took in her outfit, "No skirt," he said sorrowfully.

She reached up to play with some of his hair and replied, "This is a medic-nin mission, who says I'll be wearing pants when I'm healing my patient." His eye glazed over and Sakura couldn't believe how easy it was to rile him up that way.

He moved his arm down until it cupped the side of her hip, his fingers splayed close to her inner thigh. Bending down he whispered, "We should hurry up and get there. We can't have the patient dying." Almost caressing her, he slid his hand away in a way that had her nearly moaning.

He must have read her earlier thoughts because he added, "You're easy too," that had her flush red to the tips of her toes. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive this mission.

Sasuke obviously overheard them because he turned and shot daggers in their direction. Inwardly laughing Sakura thought, 'Sasuke must feel the same way about surviving this mission.' She blew him a teasing kiss then shifted her pack higher on her back.

"Let's get on a move on, team," she declared, and jumped up to the nearest tree. "We're going to continue non-stop until we arrive there," she informed them and then was off.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just wanted to get this out before people start saying it: Some people may say that the characters are OOC, but in my opinion, they're not. A 12 year old would not act the same at 17 or older. They would still have the same personality but different events over the years would effect a change in them. Just like Sasuke when he was younger, he was much more playful and happy, but after the massacre, he changed into someone more dark and serious.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; if I did, Sakura would be closer to Kakashi's age. ;D

CHAPTER FIVE

They arrived to their destination in the morning without any delay or trouble. Her teammates were basically there with her for a precaution and thankfully she hadn't needed them. Sakura didn't know how she could handle losing or even nearly losing one of her teammates because they were ordered to protect her.

She turned to look at them and wasn't surprised that they didn't even look tired or fazed. They often traveled to farther distances with enemy resistance. She looked at the time and addressed them, "All right this is how we're going to do this. Naruto I need you to be guarding the entrance to the room, Kakashi I need you to be scouting the village for anything suspicious, and Sasuke," she looked at him considering. "I want you to be in the room with your Sharigan activated. I'm not taking any chances on this assignment." She clapped her hands together in anticipation, "After I get changed and sterile lets get started."

"You're going to change right now," Kakashi asked. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, "And you want me to start afterwards right?"

She bent down and threw a rock at him that completely missed him. She wouldn't even have known he moved if not for the fact she threw it with precise aim. "Thanks for pointing that out, Kakashi. Sasuke and Naruto will guard my door while you go through the village."

Sasuke and Naruto started snickering, "I won't be long since I'm just changing into my red skirt." Kakashi stood there dazed and she gave him a slight push. "Now, get going," she ordered cheerfully. He lumbered off rays of disappointment radiating off of him.

She turned to the snickering idiots, "Stop laughing, and get me two rooms."

Sasuke instantly stopped, "Why not get one room, we all can just share."

Sakura shrugged looking smug, "Well, you did say you didn't want to see or hear anything." Sasuke blanched at what her words indicated and sprinted away to the nearest inn.

Once she was ready, she walked to the impressive three-story building that housed the village leader. An older petite woman that looked to be around fifty opened the door. She had long grey hair that fell under her shoulders and watery blue eyes. A look of immense relief crossed her face, "I'm so glad that you were able to arrive here with no trouble. We were hoping that you wouldn't get here too late. I've been with his family as their nurse for years but I haven't been able to do anything to help him."

"I'm here now," she said laying a comforting hand on the woman's arm. "Where is the patient," she asked. The woman walked them to the last room at the end of a long walkway and opened the door.

"He's right in here," she told them in a low voice. Sakura nodded her thanks and her and Sasuke walked into the room shutting the door behind them. The sight before Sakura horrified her, but she was trained as a medic to not let her emotions show on her face.

The man's body seemed to literally be fading away before her eyes. He had blood seeping from all the visible orifices of his body and he was gasping for breath that was blocked from the obvious blood and fluid in his lungs. Sakura sprang to his side and carefully propped him up against the bed frame.

He let loose a long series of coughs that released even more blood and some of it splattered against her shirt. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled. She was amazed he could even speak and when she got a good look at his face she was stunned to see that he wasn't some old village leader, he was young, not much older than she was.

He noticed the look on her face for he said, "You look surprised to see how old I am hu-" he started coughing again.

"Stop trying to talk," Sakura reprimanded him. "It's going to make your chest hurt more."

He shook his head, "N-no, I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that are the reason why no one wants me to be the village leader. My father died a year ago from the same disease and left me in charge. A member of the council opposed it and has been doing everything in his power to put it end to my leader-leadership-," he sputtered hacking up blood.

He held up a hand when Sakura started rummaging through her case, "Wait. I-I need to tell you that if I still die I'm requesting that your team investigate what caused his death. I refuse to believe it's hereditary but it's only been spreading to those in my family in the last three years. I re-refuse to accept that. Please," he begged weakly grabbing hold of her arm. "If this fails, I need you to find out."

Sasuke stepped forward and spoke, "No need to worry. Sakura's beyond competent when it comes to healing, so you don't need to worry about dying. Afterwards you can contact the Hokage and she'll assign a team to investigate for you."

That appeared to calm the man down somewhat and he let his body relax on the bed. Sakura bent to check him, "He's unconscious," she told Sasuke. She adjusted the man's body so she could have better access and continued, "Thanks for that Sasuke."

He merely scoffed, "I did that before you let him continue with his life-story." Sakura struggled to keep her smile down; she had her hair pulled back so she couldn't cover it up like she normally did.

"Sure, Sasuke," she replied. "I think I've identified what he has, but I'm going to make a correct diagnosis before I began." Sasuke nodded and went to stand next to the door with his sharigan activated.

After about three and a half hours Sakura had removed all the infected cells from his body using her chakra. In each appendage, she had gathered them all together and decomposed them, and then she had cut a small slit in his skin to let them all bleed out of his body. She had started from his brain cells, head, and neck all the way to his legs, feet, and toes. It had her completely drained and once she was done she stumbled backwards to find a chair.

To her grateful delight, Sasuke pulled one up for her and helped her sit down. "I'm not done yet," she announced.

Sasuke had never watched Sakura doing a surgery before and he had been intrigued. He didn't know how much work and energy went into it, he just assumed it was like healing a broken bone. One quick swipe and you were ready to go, but this was much more involved and consuming.

"What do you need to do," he asked.

Sakura had her eyes closed and was laid back in the seat. "I need you to ask his nurse to come assist me in the clean-up."

He raised his brow in confusion, "Couldn't she just wash him."

She shook her head, "No, afterwards I have to close up all his wounds and double-check everything. Its very easy to miss one cell and most likely I will need to perform one more surgery this evening or in the morning."

"You mean you're not finished," he asked in astonishment that made Sakura grin.

"Nope, not yet, this isn't even considered the longest surgery. But most of the time it's a team of doctors and medics to speed up the process," she explained to him. "Some others would require continuous cell removal for several days, but the infected cells he had were very easy to identify because some cells can blend in with your healthy ones and are harder to detect. But this one went well," she said in satisfaction.

"I never knew med work was like this," he actually voiced aloud. Before he could give Sakura a chance to respond he was leaving the room to get the nurse. He returned almost instantly and the woman had an anxious look on her face.

When she looked at the bed and noticed all the blood her legs buckled and Sasuke had to catch her before she fell. "Is-Is he all right," she asked voice trembling.

"Everything went perfect," Sakura said standing back up. "All the blood you see is all the contaminated blood from his body, and I removed the virus before I released it you so you shouldn't worry about it spreading. But as I precaution I'm going to place a protection seal on your skin that won't allow any foreign bodies to enter your body while we cleanse him."

The nurse's eyes teared up, "Thank you so much. I was so worried that Kenji wouldn't make it. All the other doctors said it was futile for him just as they said for his father."

"There isn't one thing that the Hokage of Konoha can't cure, and she's taught me everything she knows," Sakura proclaimed. "First we need to bathe him and get him fresh linen, preferably in another room. There must be plenty of those," she said.

Some of the light was returning to the woman's eyes, "Yes, you're right about that." Then they went to work and soon Kenji was set up in the room across from the one he was just in.

In under ten minutes, all his scars were healed and Sakura reached in her pack to pull out a murky looking mixture and sat it down. She moved her fingers in a jutsu and placed them under his head and Kenji's eyes opened.

Sakura beamed down at him, "Welcome to the land of the living!"

He blinked up at her and realized that he felt good, the best his body had felt since his illness had first struck him. He moved a hand to his chest and could feel no chronic pain, no urge to cough up massive amounts of blood. He was healed!

He opened his mouth to say something but his lifesaver immediately pushed a bottle in front of his face. "Don't talk, I want you to drink this first," she ordered. She could have told him to eat fire and he would have obeyed.

That was until the foul tasting liquid slid down his throat. "This is-" she shook her head obviously not wanting him to talk. After a moment, he realized why. Once the liquid had settled in his stomach, he could feel steam rising in his esophagus and easing his sore throat. Then he got this over-whelming urge to sigh and when he did, it released a large stream of steam.

Sakura patted his back, "Now you can talk, it should be much better now."

He looked at her in amazement; she was a miracle worker. "It feels like I should ask you to marry me," he asked out of the blue. She looked startled than laughed but whatever she was about to say was cut off by the dark-haired man with her.

"Don't get any wrong ideas, Sakura's already taken," he nearly growled. So that was her name.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Don't start being mean to my patient. But he's right, I'm already taken, but since when have you started being our advocate?"

Kenji grinned and Sakura noticed how handsome he was, and could tell now that he was about 20, barely three years older than she was. He had black hair that was loose past his shoulders and piercing dark blue eyes. She normally is so involved with her patients that it takes her awhile to notice them.

"Did I just propose in front of your boyfriend," he grinned.

She shook her head, "No, he's out in the town. I couldn't have him in here distracted because I'm wearing a skirt."

"You didn't worry about distracting me," he asked teasingly.

"No, I knew you would soon be in dreamland to even notice," she teased back.

Sasuke spoke up irritated, "Will you stop flirting and get back to work?"

Sakura turned to glare at him, "Don't you know that's part of my duties? I flirt with all my male patients; I discovered it speeds up their recovery."

"Does Kakashi know this," he retorted.

"If he bothered to show up for check-ups I would have gladly shown him," she muttered in reply. Then she blushed when she realized what she said. "Forget all that. In the morning I'm going to do the final procedure and you'll be all set."

Kenji had a contemplative look on his face, "Kakashi, hmm. Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"You most likely know him as the copy-nin," she informed him. A bolt of recognition crossed his face then his look turned wry.

"I know him then," was all he said.

"What? How," Sakura cried interested but he shook his head.

"It was a long time ago, how long have you been with him by the way," he asked.

"Two nights," was Sakura's response. It hadn't quite been two days.

Kenji's grin grew even more, "That's early enough to steal you away from him."

"Maybe so, but the only thing is I'm the one who snagged him and there's no way I'm letting him go," Sakura declared.

"Who would have thought that someone would fall in love with that pervert," Kenji said under his breath and Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

Sasuke truly believed for a moment that she was going to hit the guy; it was not unheard of for Sakura to abuse a patient once she healed them. But all she said was, "How do you know he's a pervert," she asked, "He's not legendary perverted like Jiraiya one of the Sannin."

Kenji avoided her gaze and yawned, "I'm not answering that." He was starting to doze off but he managed to add, "Don't stay at an inn; you're welcome to stay here. Sari will show you to your rooms," his voice was barely audible.

The old lady who they now knew was named Sari stepped forward. "He's right, and it will be safer for you to stay here too. How many bedrooms do you need?"

"Two," Sakura answered.

Without asking questions Sari said, "Follow me."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I first started this story I was planning to surprise my readers with an action twist, but after writing this chapter, I think I want to try my hand at mystery. Let's see how it goes. ^_^;


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

At her door, Sakura handed the woman an even more murky looking liquid and informed her to give Kenji two ounces every other hour. She turned to Sasuke and told him that Kakashi and Naruto could be released from their duties until the morning. Everything was in all the clear for now.

She walked in the room and was stunned how big and grand it was, it even had its own bathroom. She sighed in ecstasy and made her way towards it. After soaking her tired bones for an hour until her skin was pruned up she rose out of the tub and slipped on the robe Sari had left for her.

She sat the clothes she would wear in the morning on the bedside table and crawled in the bed. She rolled over in contentment and bumped into a warm body. She forced herself not to have a heart attack and merely turned until she was facing Kakashi.

"I hope one day I get used to you sneaking into rooms," she murmured to him sleepily.

He pulled her against him so she could lay her head on his bare chest, "If I was sneaking Sakura you wouldn't have known I was in the bed," was his response.

"Hmm," was all she could manage. Kakashi smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I heard you met another one of my eternal rivals tonight," he told her. That had her instantly shooting up in the bed and staring at him.

"What," she exclaimed in a loud whisper. "I thought Gai was your only rival."

He scowled, "No, I discovered there's one more idiot out in the world."

Smiling Sakura snuggled back down next to him, "I get the feeling it's a little different from Gai." When Kakashi didn't respond, she poked him in his side, "Go on tell, or else I'll just ask him in the morning."

Sighing he replied, "We are Icha Icha rivals." A deadly silence filled the room and Kakashi didn't move a muscle afraid of Sakura's reaction. She didn't disappoint him when she socked him in the arm.

"What is that supposed to mean?! Is that why he called you a pervert? How can you be rivals over a stupid porn book anyways," she fired at him.

"It's a long boring story that you wouldn't be interested in," he tried to persuade her.

"Well give me the short edited fun version of it," she stated. People were most likely going to look at Sakura and pity her for falling for a pervert, but she was an abusive woman! He was destined to get more injuries from her hand than those of an enemy.

Resigned he told her, "About two years ago I received a three month mission and it was at the same time Jiraiya was releasing a special mini-series of six sisters at a hot spa. He released two books a month, but every time I would find the time to pick up a copy they would all be sold out. So I asked," more like threatened he remembered, "the shopkeeper and he told me that he only received one copy of each edition and that same man arrived precisely at his store exactly ten minutes prior to the book arriving."

"I thought you said this was this short version," Sakura interrupted him wryly.

He ignored her and continued, "For the very last book I made certain that I would get there in time and when I got there he was there." Sakura giggled at the distain in his voice like it was a member of the Atasuki or worse. "I have to admit in a moment of shame Gai's influence rubbed off on me because I challenged him for the book."

Sakura instantly broke into peals of laughter and nearly rolled off the bed. "Kaka-Kakashi," she cried, "please tell me you're joking right. You challenged a stranger for a book."

"It wasn't just any book," he defended himself, "I had went for over 10 weeks without having a new special edition Icha Icha book and he was the only obstacle standing in my way."

She scooted back over to him and pressed a kiss to his nose, "Only you Kakashi. I know you won because nothing would stand between you and an Icha Icha book."

He looked smug, "Of course, I'm the Copy-nin, which was why I quickly defeated him for books two to five also."

"Ah," Sakura said in a sudden moment of clarity, "That's why he's still your rival. You couldn't beat him for number one and until you do you'll remain eternal rivals."

"He told me only death could pry the book from his fingers and well..." he paused and Sakura looked at him expectantly, "I don't know what would have happened but a jonin messenger had just arrived for me to give me new mission directives."

She looked at him in disbelief, "You would not kill an innocent man over something that stupid?"

He had the gall to shrug indifferently, "The match still isn't over. I never found a copy of that book so there's only one way left to attain it."

Turning on her back she exclaimed, "Men are such idiots!"

Kakashi took advantage of that opportunity and slid on top of her. "Maybe, but this idiot wants you." He untied her robe and slid it off her body so that their bare skin touched. He sighed in pleasure, she had the softest skin, so smooth. He moved his lips over her collarbone to taste it. He knew for a fact she tasted as good as she looked.

She spread her arms out in complete surrender, "Do whatever you want with me tonight. I don't have the strength to even moan." That caused her to giggle slightly.

"Not only will I make you moan, you'll be screaming all night," he murmured mischievously.

"Oh, well, try your best," she patted his arm, closed her eyes, and fell right asleep. Kakashi grinned, he knew she had to be completely worn out for that to happen, but he didn't mind. She did tell him to try his best.

He moved down her body until his face was at the center of her thighs and he went in for the kill. Sakura instantly woke up with a scream tangled in her throat and looked down to see what Kakashi was doing.

"That teaches me to dare you," she moaned when he brushed her spot. He continued until she was quivering on the edge of ecstasy and she reached down to pull him up. "I want to go with you tonight," she panted.

Happy to comply he pushed her legs apart and eased home. He groaned and began a hard, fast rhythm that started instantly consuming them both. Sakura wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and the new angle caused him to slide in deeper. Sakura was already close so in moments she was spiraling into oblivion.

"Kaka-Kakashi," she cried out. He went even faster and kept hitting that sweet nub and to Sakura's surprise, she found herself climaxing again. With her clenched impossibly tight around him he spasmed wildly into her and collapsed heavily on top of her with a hoarse cry.

Breathing heavily Sakura pressed a kiss to his nose, "I love you Kakashi," she managed to get out.

A few seconds later, he replied with, "You mean the world to me." And that was enough for her. She squirmed around until she lay on top of him.

She smiled into his neck, "Next time I want to be on top," and fell right back to sleep.

"Well," was all Kakashi could say to the darkness.

In the morning Sakura proved to be true to her words.

AN: Oh, I just love Kakasaku, and the reason probably is because every since I was 11, 12 I was in love with Leonardo Dicraprio and I used to always say I can't wait until I turn 18, he'll be only 32. He's exactly 14 years older than me just like Kakashi is to Sakura. It may be a weird comparison but I thought of that the other day when I heard the preview to his movie while I was typing. (I wrote this chapter a loooong time ago lol)

Although now I'm not as crazy about him as I used to be though I'll probably always like him. ^_^;


	8. Chapter 7

AN: I'm just completely blown away from all the reviews I got. So I want to thank all my fellow reviewers (in order of posts):

Maelynne Naveen, In True Meanings, Tootalltygerlily, Diamond Princess, H. Cow, Norikoko, Reshea, Animevamp, Chained and Tortured, GinaCat.

Thanks so much (blows kisses).

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sakura was on her way to Kenji's room when a servant stopped her in the hall.

"Excuse me Ms. Haruno," the girl said formally bowing slightly, "Ms. Sari said after you took care of Kenji there's she needs you to visit the village hospital for something urgent. She said she'll wait for you there." Without waiting for a response, the girl turned and walked away.

_'Something about her was odd,'_ Sakura thought but just shook it off. The girl turned a corner and vanished. Sakura could have sworn she didn't feel any other people in the house last night, but the girl could have arrived in the morning. Having more pressing matters, she continued on her way to Kenji's room.

When she reached the room she couldn't help but think of last night and Kakashi's tale. She had told him she loved him so she had to accept the good, the bad, and the perverted she thought with a fond smile. With a short knock, she opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Kenji still asleep since he hardly had any sleep last night. But after learning of his past antics, she didn't feel any remorse in waking him up.

She walked over and pressed a hand to his forehead that would instantly wake him up. His eyes shot open instantly alert and when he recognized her, he grinned. "You're my beautiful medic," he greeted her.

She was about to respond with something silly but suddenly Sasuke's voice from behind her cut her off, "Sakura there's no time for this. They need you at the hospital."

Both Kenji and Sakura turned to look at Sasuke but Kenji was the one who spoke, "What do you mean they need her at the hospital? What's the problem," he questioned.

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and responded, "Two people died overnight of the same disease you had they reported."

"That's not possible," Kenji muttered sitting up in his bed.

Sakura looked at Kenji, "You said yesterday that you weren't the only person with the disease, right?"

His expression was ominous, "No I said that it has been spreading to only my family in the past few years. I only have a few relatives left now and none of them has shown any sign of having the disease. Did they give the names," he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded, "They said one was an herbalist named Shin and the other one was named Rika a daughter of a restaurant owner."

Kenji's face expressed complete shock, "T-That's impossible," he said again mirroring his earlier expression. "The one named Rika I'm friends with and I know she is not sick!"

"Is it possible she was sick and you didn't know," Sakura asked.

Kenji shook his head adamantly, "No. She brought me flowers about three weeks ago and she was healthy. The virus that's been in my family not only is it very easy to detect it but it takes at least a year to kill you. The herbalist visits me once a month with new medicines for me to try and he wasn't sick either."

Sakura looked considering, "I hate to ask, but do you think any of them could have caught it from you. Its not airborne but was there a way they could have contacted it?"

"Even if that's possible as the village leader I see many people whether I'm sick or not. And as I said earlier even if they caught if from me they wouldn't die from it instantly like that, and further they are supposed to report to me immediately if anyone gets the disease," Kenji explained to them.

He sighed and laid back in the bed, "I can't,-I can't even begin to comprehend what's going on here now. The only thing I can think of is that the both of them were trying to help me. Shin with his medicine and Rika," he paused for a moment, "she always made sure I had fresh flowers...telling me that they would help me to recover," his voice trailed off and he got a faraway look in his eyes.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look and Sakura said, "I'll leave Sasuke here for guard duty and I'll go see what the problem is. Given what you confided to us yesterday this bears investigating into right away. Something about this whole situation feels odd," she mused aloud.

She walked to the door and called over her shoulder, "I won't be long at the hospital. I have to finish up with you and this could be a distraction. I'll return in less than an hour," she informed them and walked out.

Kenji looked at the spot she had occupied and shook his head, "I can't imagine what its like to be taking orders from her," he commented.

Sasuke scowled, "The only person I take orders from is from the Hokage," he stated.

Kenji gave a small grin, "Were her orders for you to take orders from Sakura?"

Sasuke scowl grew darker and he replied, "This is a one time thing, and we're not taking orders from Sakura we are in fact protecting her. I could go against her at any time."

"But would you," Kenji asked slightly teasing but curious. When he didn't get a response was all the answer he needed, he doubted anyone could go against the whirlwind that flew out of his room. She left no room for argument.

When Sakura arrived at the hospital she was surprised to see both Naruto and Kakashi there waiting for her. She turned to Kakashi and asked, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be walking around the village."

"You also said to be on guard for anything suspicious so I'm here," he told her.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you mean," she asked, "What have you heard?"

"After I left the main house this morning when I went around the village I immediately heard about two people dying from a disease. Normally not suspicious on its own, but without being noticed I overheard several conversations. Most of them were along the lines of the two people that died weren't sick. And also," he continued, "they showed no sign of being sick yesterday or even last night."

Naruto spoke up, "The entire village is quieter today, and whenever I came too close to anyone they would stop talking."

"Why am I not surprised you didn't hear anything, don't you know anything about stealth," she said rolling her eyes at him. He was, after all known as the surprise ninja. "Okay, Naruto you're on guard duty for now, Kakashi I need you to come with me to keep an eye out," she told him.

She got directions to the morgue and her and Kakashi walked in compatible silence until he said, "How was your patient this morning?"

Sakura looked at him in suspicion, why was he curious about Kenji right now. "He was fine," she said, "Why," she demanded to know, "planning a surprise attack on him."

Kakashi shrugged innocently, "I'm just curious to know how he is." Then he said, "I was interested in reading a book this morning but I couldn't locate the library in that mansion."

Sakura snorted, "As often as you get lost just _on the road to life,_" she said sarcastically, "You could lose yourself in there. But now that you mention a library I remember seeing a small collection of colorful books lying around somewhere," she informed him.

His face brightened up and before he could get any ideas she continued, "But I saw them in his room which is under guard by Sasuke and me, so don't try anything funny," she reprimanded him.

He sighed, "You're no fun."

She shot him a look, "You wouldn't think about fighting a recovering man," she asked in disbelief.

He waited a beat and said, "I would give him advance warning, which will make it a fair battle."

Sakura shook her head in amusement, "I don't know what I'm going to do with you." She stopped when they came to the morgue doors and turned serious. "I want you to stay out here for a moment while I check for any active bacteria. I don't know what's going on here and I don't want to take any chances with you."

Kakashi nodded and stood back while she opened the double-doors and stepped inside the morgue. She channeled her chakra to scan the room for any harmful bugs. The room was completely sterile and smelled of antiseptic. Ninja villages like Konoha only used the morgue for civilians because when shinobi died they disposed of the body immediately except in cases where they needed to autopsy if they died under suspicious circumstances. She rarely had cause to visit the one in Konoha. In the center of this one was two beds with what she assumed to be the bodies of the people who died. Everything else seemed to be in order.

She called behind her, "Its all clear for now." She walked to the bodies and felt Kakashi standing next to her. She nodded her head towards the bodies. "When I pull back the sheets I need you to tell me if you saw either of these two people yesterday." She went to the girl named Rika first and pulled back the sheet. It was not a sight for the weak stomached.

She touched the girl's brown hair, "She doesn't even look twenty yet," she murmured. She was still covered in the blood that had poured out of her orifices. "Does she look familiar," she asked Kakashi.

Kakashi stared down at the girl. As a ninja, he often faced death, and knew that at any moment he or his comrades could lose their lives. He even could face the fact that innocent people could die as a casualty of war. But despite understanding that, he couldn't really accept innocent people dying because their own bodies betrayed them. Not for a war, a cause, to protect something they loved or even their own life, just simply because their body failed them.

He turned his head away and recalled yesterday. "I saw her at the florist shop; she captured my attention because she mentioned Kenji's name and the people around her all laughed. She blushed and walked away," he answered.

Sakura sighed sadly, "He said this morning she often brought him flowers to help him recover. She was probably coming to see him today. What about her appearance, did she look sick at all?"

He shook his head, "There was nothing wrong with her that I could tell. I was close enough where I could even sense if her body chemistry was altered with a sickness but I didn't pick anything up."

"There's something about this whole situation that's strange," Sakura stated. "I didn't think of it at first, but if someone wants Kenji dead so bad why didn't we get any interference on our way here. There was no struggle, no resistance at all. But then this morning two people mysteriously die from the same disease I came to cure him of." She removed the hospital gown off the girl and prepared the autopsy.

"You can stand at the door while I do the autopsy," Sakura told Kakashi. "There's a chance this may spread so I'm going to try and determine the cause and make headway on a cure or at least something that can prevent it." Kakashi went and took guard at the door and she began the autopsy.

Nearly ten minutes into it, she had the chest cut open and was examining the area around the heart and lungs, or at least what was left of them. All her internal organs had liquefied and from what it appeared at an extreme accelerated rate, almost instantly. Alarmed she quickly moved to the older man and examined him. It was the same, an instantaneous death from the same disease. And the most intriguing fact was that the time of death was within hours of each other.

This couldn't be viewed as an accident. Two healthy people dying from the same disease near the same time. But there were no signs of poison, injection, or inhalation. It all appeared as if they had truly contacted the illness. Sakura sealed the bodies back up and considered her next course of action. She would use their blood samples and create a cure or prevention to the disease.

Once done she walked over to the sink that was located in the far corner of the room, and sanitized and rinsed her hands. She turned the water off and let her head fall forward. She didn't know how long she stood there until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her middle.

She placed her hands on top of Kakashi's forearms and whispered, "Please don't touch me right now. I-I don't want anything to-," she let her voice trail off. Instead of listening to her Kakashi pulled her close against him, and she let her head fall against his chest.

"I don't know why I'm even worrying," she murmured. "Bacteria probably doesn't even notice your presence." He pressed his lips to the top of her head and she could feel his smile.

"Even if I do get sick, you'll be able to cure me," he informed her.

Sakura couldn't find it in her to smile back, "Maybe," was all she said somberly. She pulled herself away from him and said, "Come on I need to get back to Kenji and make sure everything is okay with him." She turned towards the door but Kakashi snagged her wrist and pulled her up against him.

He bent and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "I hate seeing you frown," he said, "It'll turn your face into a granny if you keep at it."

That caused her to giggle slightly and she teased back, "Won't you still want me if I'm old and ugly?"

"I'll vanish in the wind," he quipped.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Eventually even the Icha Icha models will get old too."

"I don't worry about you though," he replied. "You are after all Tsunade's apprentice; she's taught you everything she knows."

He was unbelievable! "Stick with your perverted Icha Icha," she told him and grabbed his hand. "Come on lets get out of here. I'll tell you everything when we meet up with everybody." They walked out of the morgue and left death behind them.

AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had to do a little tweaking in it, basically I removed the statement that the 2 people died simultaneously…It totally contradicts my new outline.

I hope you enjoy the next chapter. It's been a long time coming.


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